Pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC grows war chest, and more must-reads

A pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC raised $1.75 million in the first quarter of this year. A spokesman for Ready for Hillary, which is urging the former secretary of state to run for president, said the group had more than 22,000 new donors in the quarter with an average donation of $53. The group’s haul for all of last year was more than $4 million. Read more from CNN.

The New York Times writes that two Florida doctors who got the country’s highest Medicare reimbursements in 2012 are both major contributors to Democratic Party causes. Salomon Melgen and Asad Qamar have turned to the political system in recent years to defend themselves against suspicions that they may have submitted fraudulent or excessive charges to the U.S. government, the Times writes.

Comcast has hired more lobbyists as it fights for approval of its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable, the Hill reports. The company added the Normandy Group to its advocacy roster last month and will have former Texas Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla working on its behalf. The Normandy Group is the second lobby shop Comcast has hired since announcing its intention to merge with Time Warner Cable in February.

It’s not just Republicans who want President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. The Wall Street Journal reports 11 Senate Democrats, including five up for re-election this year, are pressing Obama to approve the project and they say they want a decision by the end of next month. Those who signed the letter include Sens. Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mark Warner of Virginia and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, all of whom face tight races in November.

Barney Frank, film star. The former Massachusetts Democratic congressman and co-author of the Dodd-Frank rules on Wall Street is the subject of a documentary titled “Compared to What: The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank.” The feature-length film debuts April 27 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Read more from Roll Call.